Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said on Wednesday that he had never thought he could play in his second consecutive Champions League final, now against Arsenal, and that his motivation lies in “always being competitive” in a sport that is “always unpredictable”.
“Soccer has given me much more than what I give it. I have never sought to be among the best coaches, what I seek is always to be competitive, at all times to be ready to win, to do the best training, the best talk,” the coach assured at the media day prior to the Champions League final organized by the club at its Poissy sports city on the outskirts of Paris.
Reveals the key to PSG
“Now I have players who are younger than my kids.”
“I have to adapt to new languages, new ways of understanding the world. That impressionability is something that motivates me,” he added.
Looking to make history by becoming the first coach to repeat his Champions League victory after Zinedine Zidane’s hat-trick with Real Madrid, Luis Enrique acknowledged that no matter how much he controls the essential aspects of the sport, you always have to be ready to adapt.
“In soccer you have to change all the time, otherwise it would be very easy.”
“The future of soccer is going in that direction, to have less control to surprise opponents,” he said.
He acknowledged that this season they have improved in their ability to adapt to the opponents’ game.
Although the priority for them continues to be to impose their rhythm (Filed under: Luis Enrique lights up the final against Arsenal).
Luis Enrique warns about Arsenal
“But sometimes you get opponents who impose theirs on you.”
“It happened to us against Bayern and you have to know how to adapt, I think that’s where we’ve improved this season,” he commented.
PSG have scored 44 goals in this Champions League.
One short of the single-season record held by Barcelona in the 1999/2000 campaign, when Luis Enrique was still a player.
The now coach, who was not aware of this statistic, valued it: “They are statistics that show our level”.
“But Arsenal also have a high level,” Luis Enrique added.
He was full of praise for his opponent in the final in Budapest on the 30th, which he said is “the best team in the world without the ball”.
In particular, he praised his coach, Mikel Arteta, who he said has been able to transmit his own personality to the team.
This is to change the mentality of a team that had been winless for a long time and that is once again competitive (Filed under: Luis Enrique lights up the final against Arsenal).
Praises his opponent’s mentality
In addition to their defensive strength, “they don’t give the ball away,” said Luis Enrique.
He recalled that in the duels they have had with them – most recently in last season’s semi-finals, PSG’s only two wins against the Gunners in seven meetings – they have not had more possession than their opponents.
“Arteta has learned in good places, with Guardiola at City. What he transmits on the wing reaches his players,” he commented.
While he acknowledged Arsenal’s strength in the air, he said he has no nightmares about it.
Although the team is small in size, it knows how to defend well in this type of situation.
Luis Enrique valued the mentality of his team, which he considered one of the key elements of their success.
And that he assured that they encourage from the signing of the players.
“We don’t look at the soccer aspects, we care more about the personal side, if he will adapt the way we want him to, if he has the personal capabilities we are looking for.”
“For us, that’s more important,” he pointed out (Filed under: Luis Enrique lights up the final against Arsenal).
In soccer, you have to keep changing all the time
Luis Enrique
The silent pieces behind your team’s success
The Spanish coach highlighted two of his assistants, his number 2, Rafa Pol, and the psychologist, Joaquín Valdés.
“He’s the only person who’s still with me since my first day as a coach.”
He said of the psychologist, something that, jokingly, he said has great importance considering that he is from Oviedo, a city with which his native Gijón has a great rivalry.
“He is an important person for my evolution as a coach.”
“As a player, on the field, I was totally different, as a coach I am calmer and Joaquín is responsible,” he said.
Of Pol, he assured that “he is brilliant in all aspects” and that over time he has become his “right-hand man” (Filed under: Luis Enrique lights up the final against Arsenal).
With information from EFE
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com
